Resurrection Chapter 48 - I Do Not Remember

I found it fascinating and repeatedly put things into and took them out of the Dimension Pocket. It was truly amazing that so many things could fit limitlessly into a pocket the size of a palm.

Min Gongchan, who had approached my fascinated self, casually remarked.

“There are a lot more interesting things than this at the Otherworld Store.”

“Is that so? I have never been to the Otherworld Store.”

“I know. The first time you went there, you were so excited, like a complete child, and made a huge fuss.”

As he said that, Min Gongchan’s eyes narrowed into crescents as he smiled.

I stared at the chuckling him with a sense of unfamiliarity. Since he is a regressor, I understand that he has memories with me that I do not know about, but the feeling was very strange. It felt as if I had lost memories myself.

Seeing my expression, Min Gongchan stopped smiling. He casually raised his hand and offered an unexpected apology.

“Sorry, it must be something you do not know about.”

“No, you do not have to apologize. It is just hard to believe that I went shopping with you on friendly terms.”

When I spoke with a sour tone, Min Gongchan shrugged his shoulders.

“We also had a friendly date, didn’t we?”

“When did I?”

“Last time, at Sejong Tower, we had a romantic dinner while watching the night view…”

“Are you crazy? What part of that was romantic!”

As I grabbed him by the collar and shook him, Min Gongchan staggered like a scarecrow. The claim that he was an ordinary person must have been true, as he could not even shake off my grip on his collar.

Because of that, I could not even use my full strength and just stood there fuming, leaving Min Gongchan alone. If I acted on my temper, Min Gongchan’s neck would not be in one piece, so I had to endure it.

Annoyed, I left Min Gongchan and approached Heesoo hyung. He did not look at me as he was taking off his dirty gloves to shake them. I was about to say, “Should we take a rest now? I am hungry, so let’s eat something…” when I noticed that Heesoo hyung was feeling awkward.

I tilted my head, looked into his face, and asked.

“Hyung, what is wrong?”

At my question about the reason, Heesoo hyung hesitated slightly. As I stood there with the intention of not moving until I got an answer, he reluctantly opened his mouth.

“Are you really not in a relationship with Mr. Min Gongchan?”

I jumped on the spot.

“Of course not! What am I lacking to be dating a dark and gloomy man like that?”

“You two seemed close enough that I would have believed it even if you said you were in a relationship.”

“If I am close to that guy, I would be close to a frog! I would be close to a monster! It is not true at all, so do not say such strange things!”

As I got angry, Heesoo hyung shut his mouth. However, it was clear that he was bothered by the way Min Gongchan called me “honey” and acted familiar.

I was about to emphasize that I had no relationship with Min Gongchan and that it was rather an uncomfortable one, but I changed my mind.

“If we are talking about being close, I am closest to you, hyung. We are partners, after all. We can even see each other’s awakened system.”

“Is that so?”

At his words, which did not seem to agree much, I urged him.

“And yet, the reason I seem closer to Min Gongchan is because we speak informally. You should start speaking informally too, hyung. We have been together every day for almost half a year now, and you still use honorifics.”

“Well, I am not sure if it is okay to drop the formalities…”

“I have told you several times that it is okay. You were the one who said no.”

“It is not that I do not want to…”

“If you do not not want to, then hurry up and call me Yitae.”

“Pardon?”

“Not Mr. Yitae, but Yitae-ya. Just try calling me Yitae-ya.”

Despite my request, Heesoo hyung could not readily open his mouth. However, unlike before when he would refuse sharply, he now showed a hesitant demeanor. The hesitation itself meant that he wanted to try speaking informally, so I waited, staring at him persistently.

In the end, unable to withstand the unspoken pressure, Heesoo hyung opened his mouth.

“Yi, Yitae-ya…”

“Yes, just call me comfortably like that…”

I, who had been quick to reply, was slightly surprised. No, I was very surprised.

He had only called my name once, “Yitae-ya,” but Heesoo hyung’s face had turned beet red. From the nape of his neck to the tips of his ears and his forehead, he turned bright red, and I blushed along with him.

Come on, a person who is usually so stoic is getting embarrassed over something like this?

I should have brushed it off slyly, but since I had also become embarrassed, I could not continue speaking. Seeing my reaction, Heesoo hyung, perhaps thinking he had spoken informally for nothing, quickly changed his words.

“I am sorry, I think it is still too much for me… I will just call you Mr. Yitae for the time being.”

“Uh, oh. Okay. If you are still uncomfortable, hyung. You can call me informally when you feel comfortable.”

I awkwardly and hesitantly stepped back. As I scratched the back of my head and turned away from him, Min Gongchan was standing behind me with his arms crossed. He had a very displeased expression, as if he did not like it, and said.

“What a sickening lovey-dovey display…”

At his soft murmur, I narrowed my eyes at him.

“What? If you have something to say, say it properly.”

Min Gongchan abruptly extended his hand towards me. I was surprised and about to swat his hand away, but he was not trying to do anything else. He just grabbed my shoulder, pulled my head down, and said with his face close.

“Not giving up on Seo Heesoo… well, that is your freedom, so let’s say that is that. But do not give your heart to Seo Heesoo. It will only make things harder for you.”

I pushed his arm away and said.

“If you are still spouting that nonsense about Heesoo hyung going crazy over me and whatever…”

“It would be a relief if it only made things harder for you. It will make things harder for Seo Heesoo, harder for me, and harder for everyone in the world, so keep your feelings in check. Do not take my words lightly. You will definitely regret it.”

Min Gongchan warned coldly, and I flared up. However, since his words had some truth to them, it was ambiguous to get angry blindly.

As long as I had decided to believe that he was a regressor, I could not ignore his words that Heesoo hyung would destroy the world. It is just that the reason is absurd, but on second thought, it might be a relief.

Is it not better that the reason Heesoo hyung goes crazy and destroys the world is something I can do something about, rather than a reason I cannot control?

The point is, the fact that Heesoo hyung goes crazy over me is something that happens in the future. In other words, it has not happened yet, so it is something that can be prevented.

Right now, the relationship between Heesoo hyung and me was, by anyone’s standards, a healthy partner relationship. If we were to go a step further, you could say we were like close brothers.

Even that is putting it nicely; in reality, due to Heesoo hyung’s personality, he was not that informal even with me, his partner. Seeing the fuss he made just because he could not even call my name comfortably, this might be the limit to how close I can get to him.

Heesoo hyung, having lived a life of celibacy and self-restraint as a paladin for a long time, seemed unaccustomed to forming intimate relationships with people. The fact that he said he had never been in a relationship says it all.

It was only possible to get this close because I had put in a lot of effort. Heesoo hyung, right after I took him out of the Demonic Lair, was like an empty shell, and it was incredibly difficult to get even a single word out of him.

After putting in all sorts of effort to barely become normally friendly, for him to fall for me and go crazy, not me falling for him, was truly nonsensical.

I would rather believe it if it were Ulfheðinn. Thinking that Min Gongchan’s misunderstanding of Heesoo hyung was probably because of Ulfheðinn, I contemplated seriously.

I have to stop his divine possession somehow.

Putting aside the fact that Ulfheðinn bothers me every time he appears, a divine possession puts a great strain on Heesoo hyung’s body. I could not let the person who is supposed to save the world have his lifespan shortened by Ulfheðinn’s antics.

I thought that when I go to the Otherworld Store, I should look for an item that can prevent divine possession more than anything else. Even if not, there must be some way to stop Ulfheðinn. Then, the future that Min Gongchan talks about will surely not happen.

I collected the hunting knife from Min Gongchan and had a simple meal. After just appeasing my hunger with dry rations, I spread out a map created based on my location.

By combining the location information from the last time I entered the dungeon and the places I had wandered this time, I was able to confirm the approximate route from the dungeon entrance to here.

I marked the location where the monster had appeared on the hologram map and called Min Gongchan.

“Hey, now prove your usefulness. Where should we go?”

At my words, pointing to a place where nothing was drawn, Min Gongchan unhesitatingly pointed his finger. He marked the general direction on the hologram map and said.

“Enter to the northwest, in the 11 o’clock direction. A clearing will appear soon, and here is the settlement of the lizardmen you guys encountered last time. Since you said you killed all the lizardmen last time, it should be empty. Some strange fellow took over this place, which is why all the lizardmen came down to the swamp.”

“What is here?”

At Heesoo hyung’s question, Min Gongchan said.

“There is a large serpent. The magic stone that guy has, even if it is not a wish-granting jewel, is worth a considerable amount. It is good for bartering at the Otherworld Store, so it is better to get it. Above all, its blood is useful.”